Maison de l'Armateur

A rare 18th-century merchant's house — one of very few pre-war buildings in the city

The Maison de l'Armateur — the Ship-Owner's House — is an exceptional 18th-century townhouse in the old quarter near the cathedral, one of very few buildings in Le Havre's centre to survive the 1944 bombing. Built around 1790 for a prosperous négociant who traded with the Americas, the house has been meticulously restored and now operates as a museum of historic domestic interiors.

The six floors are furnished with period furniture, paintings, and objects that belonged to the wealthy merchant class of pre-revolutionary Le Havre. The circular staircase is particularly fine. The building provides an important counterpoint to the Perret city: this is what much of Le Havre looked like before the war. Closed Tuesdays.

Address: 3 Quai de l'Île, 76600 Le Havre.

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A story
The Maison de l'Armateur was built around 1790 for a prosperous ship-owner at a time when Le Havre was one of France's leading Atlantic ports, trading heavily with the Americas and the Caribbean. When the September 1944 bombing levelled almost everything around it, the house survived almost intact. It now stands as a memorial to the city that existed before the war and a reminder of the wealth the port once generated.

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